The Snitch
by snevans78
Summary: Listen, are you going to -' Lily began. 'Yes I am going to Sluggy's party with someone,' James answered promtly with sudden confidence, ignoring Sirius' questioning look. James grabbed his arm and said, 'I'm going with Padfoot.'" LJ, not JS! chapter 7 up!
1. Chapter 1

**SUMMARY: ****"The girl bit her lip and release a small, excruciating sob. 'What's the matter?' James asked tenderly, his expression growing more and more concerned. He cautiously drew nearer to her, so close that he could stoke her dark red hair. Lily shook her head and continued to sob. 'Don't cry,' he pleaded in a pained voice, moving closer still. 'What is it? Please don't cry, love.' She looked up in surprise at his last word. Slowly, with his eyes never leaving her tear-stained face, he closed the gap between them with his lips."**

…

"Tuney, what happened to my necklace?" Lily said, nervously twisting and untwisting her hair around her delicate fingers.

The ride to King's Cross had been very silent. Petunia, Lily's older sister, was facing the window, her back to everyone else.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she snapped, without turning her head.

Lily cringed, but kept her voice composed and kind; she had learned that this was the best way to deal with her sister.

"You borrowed it – remember, the one with white pearls? You wanted to use it when you were going out with your friends – "

"I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT IS, LILY!" Petunia shrieked, shooting her sister the iciest glare she could manage.

Lily sighed, and let it drop. Petunia had "borrowed" nearly all of the jewelry Lily owned, and everything ended up either lost or broken. Usually, Lily didn't mind much, but her mother had given _this_ necklace to her when she was nine; it had been very special.

She knew that it would be pointless to argue with Petunia about it, though, so she lied, "It's alright, Tuney, I know you didn't mean to lose it."

"I didn't lose it!" Petunia whined indignantly, scowling at Lily's martyred expression for a moment and turning away again.

_Forget it, _Lily urged herself, but it was nearly impossible.

Lily had been trying to stay on good terms with her sister for over six years now. Ever since she had been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, her relationship with Petunia had started to crumble, and it didn't seem like there was anything she could do to prevent it. Of course, she had never really been on good terms with her sister from the start; she now realized that most of her early childhood had been spent competing with Petunia for attention from their parents. When Lily had received her acceptance letter, Petunia seemed to take it as a personal insult. Since then, Lily had done everything in her power to repair their friendship. It wasn't easy though; Petunia was _very_ stubborn.

Lily leaned her head carefully against the opposite window of her sister, idly watching the blur of colors and shapes of the houses, trees, and barns they passed. She picked up a few strands of her long, dark red hair and weaved it through her fingers again.

Instead of dwelling on her problems with her sister, she tried to imagine what she would face back at Hogwarts. This was her last year at Hogwarts, hence the most difficult. Lily had never had a problem with juggling her schoolwork at all – it was just something that came to her naturally. She'd never received a grade lower than an O in her entire school life and was determined to keep it that way. She was taking all the classes required in order to become an Auror – Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, and Herbology. She had also received a letter a few days ago telling her that she would be Head Girl this year. Lily had been a Prefect for the past two years and would have been very disappointed if she did not become Head Girl. She was almost positive that Remus Lupin would be Head Boy; he had been a Prefect along with her for the past few years. It was very rare when a Prefect did not continue on to become Head Boy in the seventh year, but it was not impossible, either.

Lily knew that Dumbledore had made Remus Lupin a Prefect because he hoped it would help the boy keep his friends under control. Remus was part of a foursome along with Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and James Potter. The four of them, James and Sirius in particular, were always getting into some sort of trouble. Whether it was stealing food from the kitchen or hexing people in the corridors, they were constantly doing something exciting. Most girls in the school found it very endearing.

In fact, if Lily was being honest with herself, a very small part of her found it endearing as well, but she would _never_ admit that to anyone. James hadn't exactly made it a secret that he fancied her, but Lily would never give him any kind of satisfaction, not if she could help it.

Even since the first two years at Hogwarts, it was almost impossible not to notice James Potter, what with his loud and obnoxious discussions with Sirius Black about his Quidditch matches. None of them had ever paid much attention to the girls, and vice versa. Lily had disliked the two boys ever since she had met them on her first train ride to Hogwarts, and she had never hung onto his every word the way some other silly girls at school had.

Sometime during third year, on a rainy Friday, Professor McGonagall was handing the students back their Transfiguration essays. James, whose best subject was Transfiguration, had made it a habit to rumple his hair and look around to make sure no one had gotten marks as high as his. Lily, who was sitting right behind him, had been soothing her friend Alice.

"It's all right, Alice," she had been saying quietly, gently rubbing her friend's back, "I'm sure people get A's all the time. It just means you have to put a little more effort into it."

She had been right; people all around them were looking crestfallen. Just then, she noticed James Potter gaping at her paper.

"What?" she hissed, snatching it away.

She had not meant to sound so harsh, but she was quite alarmed at being caught. _She_ hadn't exactly advertised her grades, in an effort to be modest.

"You got an O," James had said, almost inaudibly. He no longer looked as proud as he had before.

A faint blush crept over her skin, and she couldn't think of anything to say. She had never _really_ noticed James Potter before – at least not in this way. James had seemed almost as flustered as she was.

"How?" he probed gently.

"I'm not sure, I put a lot of effort into my homework," Lily had responded faintly, still uncomfortable.

More and more heads were turning in their direction, and Lily could hear several people whispering to each other, but Lily didn't notice; she was too busy scrutinizing James' expression. She realized that it was the first time she had seen – or noticed – him take anything _seriously. _

It was also the last time. Since that day, James seemed to always treat it as a joke; teasing Lily by saying that one day he would find out how she jinxed everyone else's papers so hers was the best. At first, it had been flattering, but after a while it became a little overwhelming. Lily always ended up irritated with herself for not being able to think of a witty remark to respond to him.

"Don't you see?" Lily's friend Marlene had asked after Lily had confided everything to her.

"See what?" Lily demanded.

"He fancies you, Lily, it's so obvious!" Marlene all but shrieked, and Lily could see that she had been bouncing with excitement during Lily's entire story.

"Go to Hogsmeade with him next weekend!" she urged Lily.

"No!" Lily hissed after looking around to make sure no one was eavesdropping.

"Lily, you silly goose!" Marlene chided her. "Almost everyone would _die_ to go out with James Potter, and you…"

But Lily wasn't listening. She doubted very much that James fancied her, but she felt warmer towards him after that.

Her sudden positive opinions of him, however, were ruined very quickly. A few weeks after that one Transfiguration class, they had had been feeding Flobberworms in Care of the Magical Creatures, and Professor Kettleburn had run back to the castle to get more lettuce from the greenhouse.

Lily had been feeding lettuce to one of the Flobberworms when she noticed a huge crowd. She moved closer to find out what all the fuss was about and gasped when she saw that one of the Flobberworms was four times the size it had been before, and steam was gushing out of its ears. James Potter was standing proudly in front it with his wand out. Several girls were screaming, and most of the boys were guffawing.

"Stop!" Lily shouted at James.

He looked at her questioningly.

"Why? It's not bothering you."

"Stop! You're hurting it!"

James pretended to deliberate for a second.

"Hm…I'll make you a deal, Evans. If you go to Hogsmeade with me, I won't lay a wand on a Flobberworm ever again."

His brown eyes were hopeful. Lily could hear several "Ooooo"s.

"I will never go out with someone like _you_, Potter," Lily finally said, her voice cold. "Leave it alone, _now_, " she ordered, feeling like a mother speaking to her five-year-old child.

James, sighed, resigned, and to Lily's shock, he muttered a few counter-curses, and the crowd watched with disappointed eyes, as the Flobberworm shrunk to its original size – clearly they had been hoping for more entertainment.

"Thank you," Lily had said to James coolly.

"You're welcome, " James had responded, just as cool.

Lily tried to ignore how much the coolness of his voice hurt her. She had seen what James had done to the Flobberworm and could not allow that to be _her_. She wouldn't allow James to take advantage of her like that.

James' persistence was everlasting, though. He constantly followed her around in school, carved her initials into the snitches he nicked, passed her notes in class…Lily couldn't help but feel a little impressed by him. This was until she had seen him hexing her former best friend, Severus Snape. How was he any better than the loathsome Death Eaters, if he hexed people for the fun of it?

_It's not the same thing_, An annoying voice in her head argued. _James never uses Dark Arts._

She refused to give him the time of the day, though. She had watched James toy with the girls' feelings, and vowed to herself that she would never become like every other girl, fall into the trap – _she _would never give in to James Potter.

"Lily, we're here," Lily's mother's gentle voice broke into her reverie.

Lily's head snapped up. She unbuckled her seat belt, opened the door, and walked silently with her parents and sister. She clasped her bag in one hand, and a cage with a tiny, white owl in the other.

She vaguely noticed people carrying owls who were probably off to Hogwarts as well, but didn't acknowledge them. Instead, she was trying to estimate whether she would have enough time to change into her school robes before the Prefect's meeting began.

They had finally reached platform nine. With a sigh, she kissed her parents goodbye and waved at Petunia - who glared in return - and rushed through the barrier that led to platform nine and three quarters.


	2. Chapter 2

…

Among the crowd of excited students and fluttering owls, four boys stood in a close huddle.

Peter Pettigrew took a huge bite out of a sandwich his mother had packed for him.

"Will you ever stop eating?" Sirius complained, half-joking and half-annoyed. "There _is_ food on the trolley, you know."

James and Remus grinned.

"This year is going to be a tough one," Remus said, changing the subject.

Sirius snorted. "As if. We're the ones who figured out how to become Animagi in the _fifth year_. That's nothing compared to the dung load the teachers at Hogwarts pile on us."

"Don't speak too soon, Padfoot," Remus said in a serious tone.

Sirius snorted again.

"C'mon, let's get on the train or else all the compartments will be filled," said Remus. We can't wait for the crowd to clear out forever."

"C'mon," Prongs," Sirius said after James hadn't moved. "Prongs?"

James was craning his neck above the crowd, searching.

"Who are you looking for…?" Sirius started. "Oh, I forgot," he said, grinning.

Peter snickered.

"James, you have the whole year to search for her," Remus said, annoyed, "c'mon!"

James finally looked back at his friends at grinned.

"Alright, at least I'll see her in the Prefects carriage."

His friends grinned, and Sirius tugged at his arm until he finally gave up and followed his friends into the train.

"C'mon," Remus said, "there's an empty compartment."

The boys bustled in; now no one would dare encroach this compartment – they had claimed it. Sirius lounged casually on one side, while Remus and Peter plopped down on the other.

"James, you're expected at the prefect carriage now," Remus told his friend sternly as he started to sit down next to Sirius.

"Aw, come on, Moony, he has forever!" Sirius whined.

"It's not a very good way to _start the year_," Remus persisted sternly, "to be late for your first meeting.

"Moony's right," James said, resigned, but he was only thinking about Lily. He wanted all the time he spent with her to be _perfect_, and Remus was right; as it his, he would already be quite late. "See you guys later."

He strolled casually out of the compartment, but inside, he stomach was in a huge knot. How would Lily react to _him_ being chosen as Head Boy?

It wasn't as terrible as he feared, though. When he reached the compartment, his eyes scanned the compartment as he searched for her. He felt a smile slowly spread across his face as he finally saw her.

She was standing in front of the prefects, already changed into her school robes. Her long, dark red hair fell lightly over her shoulders, cascading down to her waist. Her bright green eyes sparkled; there was a small smile on her lips as she spoke, and not even a drop of makeup obscured her face, very thankfully. James knew that she never wore makeup – and didn't need it either, most of the girls in the school would die to have the cream-colored skin she had. She was even more beautiful than he remembered.

James casually strolled over to where Lily was standing, and enjoyed – for a split second – as the shock played on Lily's face when she saw his Head Boy badge. She composed herself quickly, though.

"Hi, James," she said slowly and carefully, shock saturating her honey-sweet voice. "Where were you?"

"Sorry," he said casually, "we were waiting for the crowd in front on the train to clear out."

Lily stared at him skeptically for a moment and then finally said slowly, "Alright, then." She turned back to the prefects and said, "As I was saying…"

James waited patiently throughout her instructions to the prefects, but not really listening to the words. He mostly watched her – her eyes, her hands pushing her long, dark red hair behind her shoulders, her lips brushing against each other as she spoke…

_Prongs, get a hold of yourself!_ He rebuked himself internally.

"That's about it," said Lily, finally. "After you finish patrolling the corridors, you're free to go back to your friends' compartments."

James watched the prefects leave the carriage and then turned to the beautiful girl standing beside him, grinning.

"How did _you_ become Head Boy?" Lily demanded in an undertone, her shock unflattering but not unexpected.

"I dunno, maybe the old man really is losing it," James joked, referring to Dumbledore.

Lily frowned but didn't say anything.

"Shall we?" he said, gesturing to the entrance of the compartment, where the prefects were departing.

She nodded wordlessly, her eyes full of suspicion.

"Surprised?" James said, enjoying himself.

"Very," Lily agreed, and gave him a tiny, reluctant smile.

"And I am not – not in the slightest," he continued. "You probably thought Moony would be Head Boy, huh?"

"I was sure…I suppose Dumbledore has his reasons, though."

James grinned. "So how was you summer?"

"Fine," she said, but her voice faltered, giving her away.

James gazed down at her, concerned, but knew from her tone that she probably didn't want to discuss it. He'd have to find a way to bring it up later.

They had finally reached the compartment where Remus, Sirius, and Peter were waiting. Lily looked up at James, looking as if she wanted to say something but wasn't quite sure how to phrase it.

"Thanks," she said finally, in a small voice. "I'll see you, I guess."

"Yeah, see you. Bye," he said lamely, internally cursing himself for not coming up with something more impressive.

Lily smiled at him and then walked away. He gazed at her until he could no longer see her.

"Prongs!" Sirius hissed, snapping his fingers in James' face.

"Huh?" James looked up, confused.

Sirius sighed, a little irritated.

"Stop gawking at her so much, mate, that's _detractive_."

"I don't gawk at her _that_ much," James insisted, but after catching the looks on his friends' faces, he added, "Well it's not so obvious, is it?"

Sirius struggled, trying to word his answer carefully, so James wouldn't be offended.

"It's alright, Padfoot, you can answer truthfully," James told his friend, grinning.

"Well, sort of," said Sirius.

"Why doesn't she like me?" James complained.

"She _likes_ you," Sirius tried to assure him, "she just doesn't know it herself. It won't be long until she realizes, though."

"She won't like you if you continue to make a fool out of yourself," said Remus wisely. "Sometimes, your idea of what's impressive doesn't really match hers."

"What _is_ her idea of impressive, then?" James asked.

"That's up to you to find out," Remus said in a tone that suggested that he didn't want to be responsible for any of it.

With a groan, James plopped down next to Sirius and helped himself to a Pumpkin Pasty.

…

"You're _joking_."

Mary stared, wide eyed, at her friend, and gasped when Lily didn't crack a smile.

"You're serious?" she said, her eyes widening so much that Lily thought they might pop out of their sockets.

"What?" Marlene whined from the other side of the compartment.

The five Gryffindors had each been having their own separate conversations, too preoccupied to notice Lily and Mary's conversation.

"Lily's just told me that James Potter is Head Boy!"

"_What?_"

The compartment was suddenly full of screaming and giggling; Lily almost wished that she hadn't said anything; she wasn't quite in the mood for this kind of reaction. Right now, all she wanted was to fall asleep. She leaned against the compartment door, irritated at herself for saying anything at all.

_Well, _she thought, _At least James will be pleased._

She knew James would enjoy the attention very much; she could almost picture him standing, surrounded by lovesick girls, maybe rumpling his hair a little…

Somehow, she didn't think of the idea as extremely irritating as she might have only a year ago. She thought of it more…like a fond parent looking back on her child's old habits. Maybe it was because she truly felt that James had matured; she had enough faith in Dumbledore to know that he had a very good reason for choosing _him_ to be Head Boy. It wasn't as if James' troublemaking undermined his schoolwork much; he still got excellent grades for the most part.

With a swell of shame, Lily realized she was becoming just like every other girl in the school. She was falling into his trap, allowing herself to become his puppet like the helpless pushover she was.

She unconsciously folded her arms firmly against her chest. She was _not_ a pushover. She would _not_ allow James to control her. Just because he was Head Boy didn't mean that anything was different. He was still an arrogant bully and she would never give in to him.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you liked it! I apologize to the people who subscribed to the alerts and got about 3 emails - I have been trying to edit my story and I haven't quite figured out how to replace documents. Anyways, reviews are appreciated =D. **


	3. Chapter 3

…

"Guess what?" James said to his friends in an undertone.

The four boys had each settled in the center of the Gryffindor house table for breakfast. Remus was carefully pouring pumpkin juice into his mug. Peter took two huge bites out of his bacon.

"What?" asked Sirius eagerly, his mouth stuffed with eggs.

"We're patrolling the castle at night this whole week!"

His eyes were visibly glowing, and it took his friends a few seconds to understand where his enthusiasm came from.

"Oh," said Sirius awkwardly, "_We_ as in you and Evans?" He sounded disgruntled for some reason.

James nodded, and threw his head back when his friends didn't express the kind of enthusiasm he was expecting.

"You guys are no fun," he grumbled, scowling.

"That's great, Prongs," Peter piped shrilly, obviously trying to please James.

James couldn't help but laugh, and the others joined in.

"Shush," Sirius hissed suddenly, and pointed inconspicuously at a crowd of girls entering the hall. "Incoming," he said under his breath.

The girls were completely unaware of the four boys that were trying very hard not to look at them. They were prattling to each other lightly, giggling.

"Hello, Lily," Remus said to her politely; she had seated herself a few inches away from them, on the side opposite from James.

James shot him a quick glare. Remus was making everything much more obvious than it needed to be.

"Hi," she said, smiling shyly at them before turning back to her friends.

"See, she likes you!" Sirius hissed in James' ear. "Isn't it obvious?"

"What do you mean?" James whispered back.

"She smiled at you," Sirius explained.

"She smiled at all of us!"

Sirius shook his head, exasperated.

"Prongs, you don't see what I see – "

"Of course I don't!" James interrupted.

Sirius smiled but otherwise ignored his friend.

"She's always liked you – she just doesn't want to admit it to herself! I have a better grasp of these things than the average bloke," Sirius said, grinning.

James glared at his friend distrustfully, sure he was teasing.

"I'm serious!" Sirius growled.

"Yes, you are, Sirius," James agreed, laughing.

"What are you two hissing about?" Peter asked.

"Nothing," James and Sirius said, grinning at each other.

Remus opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but then quickly eyed the dark red hair beside him and thought the better of it. James gave him a look that clearly said, "Good choice."

"C'mon," Remus said, getting up from the table. "We're going to be late."

"Relax, Moony," said Sirius, rolling his eyes. "No one else is leaving yet."

"They're all going to be late."

Sirius leaned in and whispered, "Has Evans _ever_ been late?"

Remus folded his arms across his chest stubbornly, but after a few seconds, he finally admitted, "Alright, you have a point."

He sighed and sat back down.

"I always do," said Sirius, unperturbed. "By the way, I wonder who our new Defense teacher is…"

Remus groaned. "Weren't you paying _any_ attention at the feast yesterday?"

"Nope," said Sirius, flicking away a piece of bacon that had fallen from Peter's plate.

"Professor Munitio," Remus informed him.

Sirius snorted. "That's not what I meant. I wonder what he's like."

"Guess we'll find out," said Remus, shrugging.

Just then, Lily was rising from her seat, hastily slinging her book bag over her shoulder.

"That's our queue to leave," said Remus, standing up.

"You worry too much, Moony," said Sirius, but he stuffed the last bit of his omelet into his mouth and stood up as well.

"I'm still hungry," Peter complained.

"There's still lunch, Wormtail," Sirius joked.

The four boys followed Lily, Alice, and Marlene to Defense Against the Dark Arts (nearly all the Gryffindors in their year were taking the subject).

As they lined up in front of the classroom, they heard the unpleasant voices of the approaching Slytherins.

"Great," Sirius groaned. "Just what we needed."

Lily seemed to agree with his assessment – she involuntarily folded her arms across her chest.

"Ooo," came Bellatrix Black's nasal, sneering voice. "Potter, are you sure you want to stand so close to the Mudblood? You don't want her sliming up your hair, do you?"

James' hand clenched into a fist, and he involuntary reached for his wand. Lily patted his arm and whispered, "Don't."

His had relaxed slightly under her touch.

"That's rich, coming from you," he responded, using all his strength to sound unruffled. "You're the one standing next to Snivellus."

Sirius, Peter, Alice and Marlene all snickered. Only Remus kept his eyes down, his forehead slightly creased. Lily looked shocked, as if she wasn't quite sure how to respond. The corners of her mouth twitched into a slight frown.

James felt a twinge of regret. He probably shouldn't have used that one in front of her. He'd have to come up with something else to use while she was there.

"You idiot," hissed Remus, "didn't you know Snape used to be her friend?"

James was silent. He did, in fact, know that they had been friends – he was the one who had met them together on their first train ride.

"Hello, students," A voice greeted them.

A short, chubby teacher was walking to the classroom door, smiling. His long front teeth somewhat reassembled a walrus.

"Hey Wormtail, meet your future self," Sirius said under his breath.

Several people within earshot laughed; Peter turned a shade pinker. Professor Munitio, oblivious, opened the door and let the students in, greeting them in his wheezy voice.

As they settled down, Professor Munitio walked up to the front of the class and introduced himself, beginning with a lecture about class procedures. James wasn't listening. He quickly tore a piece of parchment and wrote:

_Evans,_

_I'm really sorry about what happened outside the classroom. Didn't mean to offend you. Please don't be upset._

_-James_

He folded the paper in half and discreetly placed it on the desk next to him. He tried not to watch as she unfolded the note, read it, and wrote a reply. Finally, when James thought he would explode with impatience, she handed him the note. Until his hastily scribbled apology, she had neatly written:

_Please don't worry about offending me or anything of that sort. I was simply shocked that you would say such a thing. I really thought you were past that kind of immaturity._

James felt the regret take over him again.

_I'm really, really, really sorry. I know he was a friend of yours. I just couldn't stand that nasty Black girl saying things like that; I was obligated to reply. Sorry._

He passed his response back to Lily, who was attentively taking notes. He tried not to look at her much in an attempt not to give them away, as some students were already looking suspicious. He noticed that she was very adept at making at seem like she was simply taking notes. Was it because she was used to this note-passing thing? She didn't seem like the type…

_You didn't have to do that for me._

James looked up to see her staring at him, she eyes full of unspoken emotion.

"Ah. Miss…?"

"Evans, sir," Lily said, looking quite shaken.

Damn. Professor Munitio had noticed them.

"Miss Evans. May I see what you have here?"

"My notes?" She asked artlessly.

James noticed that her lying skills weren't nearly as good as her note-passing ones. Thank heavens the note was still with James. He hastily shoved it into his pocket.

He watched Professor Munitio scan her notes. James peered over at them and almost gasped aloud when he saw that it contained a near-perfect transcription of the lecture, although each sentence was clearly re-worded. How did that girl manage?

"Hmm," Professor Munitio's tone was confused. He looked at Lily and finally said, "Well, I'm quite impressed! Evans, you say?"

Lily nodded slowly.

"Any relation to…" He placed his hand on his forehead, as if it would fortify his memory at all.

"Sir," Lily interrupted, and James noticed the extra effort she was putting in to sound polite. "I'm Muggle-born, sir."

"Really?" He said, almost skeptically, as if he thought she was fooling around. There were several snickers from the Slytherins.

James couldn't contain himself any longer.

"Why? Is that a problem? What difference does it make if someone's Muggle-born? It doesn't make a person any less smart, or – "

"That will be enough, young lad," said Professor Munitio, cutting him off. He gave James a very stern look. "Detention, this evening in my office. Hopefully, it shall teach you how to be respectful in my class."

He then turned to Lily and said, "You mustn't think I'm prejudiced, dear," he said kindly to her.

She nodded to acknowledge his statement, but she, like most people, where staring at James. The Gryffindors all looked proud, while the Slytherins looking mocking – the one exception being Severus Snape, who looked so uncomfortable, it was as though he wished he could disappear. Everyone else simply looked astounded.

James sat through the lecture impatiently, his mind elsewhere. What had Lily thought about his outburst? He was dying to find out, but they couldn't risk note-passing again. He would have to simply wait and see.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Professor Munitio dismissed the class. James gathered his things slowly, wanting to wait for Lily.

"Professor?" she called.

"Yes, Miss Evans?" He asked, coming over to their desks.

"I was just wondering," she hesitated, took a deep breath and said, "Can James be excused from his detention tonight? It's just…none of this is his fault…" she trailed off, probably realizing how bizarre it sounded.

"That's very generous of you, Miss Evans," Professor Munitio said, looking very startled. "However, Mr.…"

"Potter," James muttered.

"Mr. Potter has interrupted my class, and I don't appreciate that kind of behavior in my class."

He smiled.

"It's alright, Lily," James told her, "I'll be fine."

Lily looked desperate.

"But…"

"Miss Evans, surely you don't _want_ detention, do you?"

"No, but –"

"I suggest you take the night off, then," Professor Munitio cut her off.

Finally, Lily seemed to give up; she picked up her book bag and started walking towards the classroom door. James hurried to keep up with her.

"What was that all about?" James asked her.

"I'm so sorry!" she burst out. "I really didn't want that to happen…"

"What do you mean?"

"That was all my fault! You wouldn't have gotten detention –"

"Relax, Evans," Sirius said, joining them. "James gets detention all the time, don't you?"

James grinned and nodded. "It's no big deal, really, Lily."

"You don't understand!" Lily sighed impatiently. "I've never gotten anyone in trouble before! I should have taken the blame, I'm so sorry!"

"No, Lily," James said firmly. "I contradicted him because I wanted to. You've got nothing to do with it. Just don't worry about it."

Lily looked like she wanted to say more, but she just sighed.

"My goodness, that was so horrible!" said Alice, catching up with the three of them. "This whole Muggle-born prejudice _has_ to stop soon. It's becoming so old and it's ridiculous."

* * *

**A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!!!! As some authors do, I tend to write ahead, and only upload new chapters when I get a decent amount of reviews for the previous (I'm working on Chapter 5, but just uploaded 3), so the more you review, the faster I'll update. Please? I know there are many readers; I check the hits for the story nd they're pretty high...it's just that most people don't review. Please? Just let me know how the story's going...you only have to type a word at the minimum!**

**By the way, random question, but I want to know how many people ship Sirius/Lily (Of course I'm not going to add it to this story…but…just out of curiosity). So, if you do ship them, please put a Y at the end of your review, and if you don't, put an N.**

**Please! Even if you don't want to review the story, at least review and type one letter, please??? Just so I know you readers are out there…**


	4. Chapter 4

…

Lily couldn't believe what had happened that morning. First of all, she was shocked at the way James had defended her from Bellatrix and Professor Munitio. It seemed so uncharacteristic. She knew, of course, that he had fancied her; it had been quite obvious since fourth year, but she'd always thought he was too wrapped up in his own life to notice – or care about – little things like that.

Then, she felt so guilty that he had gotten a detention that she almost regretted some of the things she had said to him in the past, even if he had deserved it at that time.

She idly walked in the corridors, wand out, waiting for him to arrive – he had been running late for patrolling because of this detention.

She heard footsteps behind her. Startled, she turned toward their sound and saw James grinning and walking towards her. She sighed in relief; for a second she had been sure it was someone else.

"Hi," she murmured.

"Hi," he replied, still grinning.

After a few seconds of silence, Lily asked, "How was it? I mean, what did he make you do?"

James shrugged. "Nothing so terrible. He just made me write lines, that's all. Don't worry about it."

"I'm really sorry," she said; she couldn't get over all the guilt.

James laughed and ran his hand through his hair. "How many times have I told you not to worry? Anyways, will you forgive me?"

"_Me_? Will _I_ forgive _you_? What for?"

"Remember, I insulted your friend this morning."

"Oh, that," she said awkwardly. She hadn't been thinking it _that_ direction. She looked carefully at his face; his expression was beseeching – impossible to resist. "Oh, alright, you're forgiven."

"Thanks," he said, and a brief smile lit his face. They walked for a few moments in silence. Lily had her wand out in front of her, holding it out like a flashlight.

"What are you planning to do after you leave Hogwarts?" James asked suddenly.

"I want to become an Auror," she said shyly.

"Really?" James said, smiling widely. "So do I."

They had never discussed this with each other, though Lily probably should have guessed, since they had the same classes in sixth year, and it was no different this year.

"That's great," she murmured sincerely, blushing furiously when she added, "You're excellent at Transfiguration and Defense; those are probably the most important subjects."

Thank goodness it was too dark for him to see her face clearly. James' grin became visibly wider – so wide it was amazing that such a grin could fit on his face.

"Coming from you?" he asked disbelievingly, though his tone sounded elated as well.

Lily shook her head.

"I'm not as good as you," she said. "I may get good _grades_, but honestly…" she trailed off, shaking her head again. "I've never even been in a duel."

"That makes sense," James agreed. "You're too kindhearted to engage in that kind of brutal activity."

She laughed.

"Well, you're excellent at Potions," James told her. "Even Moony can't figure out how you manage. And in Charms…you put us all to shame."

Lily felt like her cheeks were on fire. "Thanks," she said.

"How _do_ you manage in Potion anyways?" he asked her. "I usually follow all the directions in the book, but it turns out all wrong anyways."

"I know this is going to sound ridiculous," Lily said, "but the book is wrong most of the times."

"What?"

Whatever James had expected, it was definitely not that. Lily sighed.

"You can't really follow the directions to create advanced potions like that," She tried to explain. "It comes…naturally. It's very hard to explain."

"Hmm…" James muttered, his forehead creased.

They walked in silence for a few minutes. The silence was killing her, but she didn't want to be the one to break it.

Finally, James said, "C'mon, let's head back to the dorms."

"I don't bore you _that_ much, do I?" she asked jokingly, while she sincerely hoped it wasn't so.

"Of course not!" he said, sounding almost affronted. It seemed like he wanted to say something else, but held himself back. Finally, he said, "Can I asked you something else?"

"Sure," Lily said cautiously, wondering exactly what it could be that he wanted to ask her.

He hesitated for a moment. "Why don't you like me?"

_If only you knew_, Lily thought darkly.

She opened her mouth, and quickly closed it again. What the hell was she going to say to him?

James smiled. "Is it a secret?" he asked. "I swear not to tell everyone."

"Except for all of your friends," Lily muttered, and said, "No, actually, it's not a secret. I _do_ like you…sometimes. When you're not being an insensitive toerag."

"That's enough for me," James said, pleased. "You really _like_ me? Sometimes, I mean?"

Lily nodded, smiling at his enthusiasm. He vaguely reminded her of an excited child on Christmas Eve.

"Thanks, Lily," he said, grinning. "I like you too…all the time, you know."

She looked down, and her cheeks were flaming. She was sure he was teasing, and thought it was so unfair how much he had made her blush. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice that they had reached the portrait hole already.

"Persona grata," James muttered.

The Fat Lady snored loudly, oblivious.

"Persona grata!" He tried again; she didn't stir. "PERSONA GRATA!"

She woke up with a start, and frowned when she saw the two students. "What are you bellowing for?"

"We need to get inside," he said, out of breath.

"Alright, then, there's no need to shout," she said grumpily, her words slurred. The portrait swung open.

"Finally," James muttered.

He climbed through the potrait hole, and chivalrously helped Lily through. She felt a chill run down her spine when he touched her arm.

"G'night!" James called to her as they walked in separate directions.

"Good night!"

Lily made her way up the stairs to the girl's dormitories and tiptoed to her bed, careful not to wake anyone up. Once she had gotten in bed, she tried to fall asleep but felt much too excited. She wondered if it should bother her that James could have this level of influence over her. Maybe it was unhealthy. But at that moment, all she could think about was that he had told her directly that he liked her.

…

"So," Sirius said at breakfast the next morning, looking significantly at James. "What happened? Last night, I mean."

He shot a quick glance at Lily, Mary, Marlene, and Alice, who were quizzing each other from their Transfiguration books. Peter snickered at the not-so-hidden meaning behind his words, but was silenced by James' icy glare.

"Nothing _happened_," James sighed in frustration at his friends, avoiding the question.

Somehow, he thought his conversations with Lily should be between the two of them. He thought about what she had said last night – _"I don't bore you _that_ much, do I?" _If only she knew…every word she spoke allured him in. He had tried – for so many years to forget about her, but it was impossible. She was the only girl who would ever own his heart. And now it was up to him to win hers. Well maybe not _win_. Maybe that was the wrong word...it made her heart seem rather like a lottery prize...

"C'mon, give some details!" said Sirius, an impatient look crossing his face.

"Padfoot," began Remus, a little timidly, "maybe James doesn't _want_ to tell us – "

Sirius groaned. "Why won't you tell _us_?" he grumbled.

James shrugged lazily, not wanting to explain. He was afraid his friends would take it too lightly.

Sirius grumbled some more, and James thought he heard the word "boring" somewhere.

"What did you guys _talk_ about then?" Sirius asked after a few moments of silence, with a thick edge of annoyance. "Or is that too confidential?"

"I dunno, a bunch of stuff," James said, keeping his eyes on his plate. It felt so _wrong_ to discuss her with his friends behind her back, almost as if he was betraying her. "We talked about detention a little." A very little.

Sirius seemed a little mollified. "She's still upset about that? That's a good sign! That means she cares about you…what did Munitio make you do anyways?"

James was very grateful for the distraction.

"Just lines. 'I will not contradict tactless teachers without permission.'"

Sirius and Remus laughed lightly; Peter snickered loudly and shrilly, causing several people to stare. James did not miss that Lily was one of these several people. He watched her as she turned back to her friends. After a few minutes, she stood up. The other three got up as well. James quickly finished his breakfast and started to gather his books into his book bag.

"In a hurry to get to class?" Sirius asked, smirking playfully at James.

"Well, Lil-Evans is leaving…"

"And since when have you been so obsessed with Evans?" Sirius said sarcastically.

"Prongs is right," said Remus. "We'd better not be late to Transfiguration."

Sirius snorted. "Trust _you_ to be worried, Moony. Your forehead is going to wrinkle prematurely."

James grinned.

"C'mon, Padfoot, let's _go_," he said. "We're going to be _so_ late."

"Who are you and what have you done with my friend?" Sirius asked with mock-horror.

* * *

**A/N: **

**Persona grata = a pleasant person (in Latin)**

**(Oh yeah I forgot last chap: Munitio = Defence - in Latin)**

**Please review! What did you think of my made up password? =D I found a wonderful web page that has a whole list of these, and I will be using them whenever I feel the context is appropriate. **

**So...yeah. That was a short chappie, I know…but I have writers block and you have no idea how hard that was to write! But next chapter there's gonna be DRAMA!!! HINT: I looked up the 1976 phases of the moon and found out that the full moon in September was on the 8th...just letting you know, cuz it's a week from this date :).**

**Hope you are enjoying the story so far! If any of you readers have any plot suggestions, please tell me in your reviews and I will TRY to weave some of your ideas in somewhere (can't promise; I have already created a basic outline – based on life experience – and I have to make sure your ideas fit with mine). **

**Anyways, hope you liked it!**

**PS: I'm gonna have another _REVIEW QUESTION_, since it was succesful last chapter...just to keep you guys to review every chapter! Please???**

**Anyways, the question is:** **_Do you ship Lily/Snape?_**

**And here is my answer: I do ship them IN A WAY. I mean, I would never want them to go out or anything, because then the series probably wouldn't exist. BUT I do think he was kind of important in James/Lily's relationship (and vice versa) and I am intrigued by the idea of their friendship. I really found it scary that Snape was in love when I first read it, because I loved his character as the evil person he is, but after reading DH and The Prince's Tale, I was intruiged by the entire Marauder Era. If that wasn't in the book, I probably wouldn't be sitting here writing this story. I was also intrigued by all the peer pressure! Because Snape definately had to face that more than anyone I can think of! **

**But still, LE/JP is still the most perfect of all pairings :). They were truly made for each other. **


	5. Chapter 5

…

On Friday evening, James and Sirius walked up to the castle along with their fellow Gryffindors after the Quidditch tryouts, their clothes drenched. James avoided Sirius' gaze for a few minutes, staring fixedly at the ground.

"What's wrong, mate?" Sirius asked his friend, his voice full of concern.

"Nothing's wrong, Padfoot. I just…I think I want to be Seeker this year instead of Chaser."

The words escaped before James could stop them; he had not meant to blurt the words out so quickly, but somehow he had. He turned toward his friend slowly, fearing his reaction and gulping as he saw Sirius's eyes widening.

"That bad an idea, huh?" He muttered darkly.

Sirius surprised him by suddenly grinning and saying "Not at all! I was actually wondering why no one ever considered it before! You'd be great! I mean, you have even better reflexes than Dearborn!"

James grinned. "I didn't realize you'd be that enthusiastic about it."

"It's brilliant! You could probably hold the tryouts again tomorrow around noon…"

"I don't need to go through the whole process again. Obviously, you're still Keeper, and Prewett twins are Beaters, and Marlene and Dorcas are Chasers, no doubt about it. We just need a third Chaser." James said this more to himself than to Sirius.

"Well, how about that Fenwick kid? He's in sixth year…almost as good as Marlene, remember?"

"Benjy Fenwick? Yeah, I did consider him."

"So why not him?"

"I dunno, mate, I think it's better if we try out all the Chasers again."

"Fine by me. Why don't you put something on the notice board right now, for tomorrow after noon?"

"Yeah, maybe, but I think it should be a little later, y'know, after lunch."

"Oh, right," said Sirius, grinning.

As they walked, James imagined being Seeker. He'd been Chaser since his second year at Hogwarts, though he had always wanted to be Seeker. Caradoc Dearborn, who was a year above him, had always been Seeker until this year. None of the Gryffindors had tried out for Seeker this year, and James, as captain, had to find a Seeker in order for them to play.

James walked into the Great Hall with Sirius without noticing his surroundings, as his mind was still on Quidditch. It was all he could think of until he caught sight of a dark red head. He was very tempted to walk over to where Lily was sitting and chatting with her friends, but Sirius grabbed his arm and pulled him away firmly.

"C'mon, mate, you'll see her tonight, why don't you sit with us, at least?"

"I was only going to say hello," James murmured, though it wasn't true.

Remus seemed to agree with Sirius. "Don't be too much of a bother, I'm not so sure she'll like that."

"More than that, we had to stop you before you did something stupid," Sirius said, looking apologetic.

"What are you talking about?" James demanded furiously as they sat down next to Peter, who was already stuffing his mouth with food.

"Well, Prongs, we both know you're a great person," Sirius said very quickly, a hint of embarrassment in his voice, "but _she_ doesn't know that because you always make a fool of yourself when she's around."

James took a while to process this. "How so?" he asked slowly and deliberately.

Remus shot Sirius a warning glance and said hesitantly, "That's not what he means…he's trying to say that you should be yourself around her. I know she likes you, but she doesn't want you to know, because she thinks you'll take advantage of her. You have to make her trust you…you probably think she'll be impressed if you show off for her, but that's not the case; why do you think she's not going out with you?"

James scowled, partly because Remus' speech made him feel like a three-year-old, but also partly because he knew what Remus was saying was true.

"How do you know so much about her?" Sirius asked.

Remus smiled. "You'll have to trust me when I say I know how her mind works."

"How do you know she likes me, though?" James asked. "I mean, most of the times she's friendly and everything these days, but what can you expect? She's a friendly person."

Remus and Sirius grinned at each other, and it looked like they were gritting their teeth together to suppress laughter.

"What?" James demanded indignantly.

Sirius let out a bark-like laugh, and Peter joined in.

"Isn't it obvious?" Sirius asked, so loud that Remus and James both glared at him until he lowered his voice. "What was the last line she came up with to tell you she wasn't interested in going out with you?"

James' frustration amplified; it gave him no pleasure to think of her quick refusals. "Oh yeah, she said she'd rather eat a Flobberworm alive," he said. "So?"

"Who would waste their time making those up on someone they're not interested in?" he said, still laughing. "I bet she has a notebook full of them. It's her own way of impressing you."

Peter chortled. James felt confused; he had not thought of this before. He wasn't sure if he agreed with Sirius, but it was definitely something to think about.

"Anyways," Sirius said, a hint of a smirk on his face, "can we talk about something else? Like Quidditch?"

"Oh, right," said James. "I was thinking of trying out for Seeker."

"That's a great idea," said Remus. "Why would you have to try out, though? You are captain, aren't you?"

"That's true, but I still think it would help if other people were there to help. You know, to make sure I'm not that terrible."

"That's a good idea," Remus told him approvingly.

"Don't look, but Evans is looking our way," said Sirius suddenly.

"What?" James said, and started to turn his head her way.

"DON'T!" Sirius said furiously, causing several people to look at them.

"Sorry," James said. "Can't I just wave, though?"

"No," hisses Sirius, and after glancing at the girls, he leaned in so no one besides the four of them would hear and said, "Imagine Prongs has just told us a really good joke. On three, we all laugh. One…two…three."

Peter exploded in a fit of chortles, Sirius barked with laughter. Remus looked at his friends disapprovingly.

"Shut up," James hissed, "People are staring."

"That's the point," Sirius said cheerfully. James glared at him; his friend was enjoying himself too much for James' liking.

"I'm not sure that's the best strategy," Remus said. "It looks a bit too immature. See, she's looked away."

James glanced at her surreptitiously, and saw that she was indeed looking away from them.

"Sorry, mate," Sirius said, following his gaze. "I thought it would be a good idea."

"Most of Sirius' 'good' ideas are not very reliable," Remus stated.

"Hey! I've had plenty of good ideas, Moony!"

"That's true, you have had _some_," Remus admitted.

"Listen, I'm going up to the Common Room," James announced.

"Alright, see you," said Sirius lazily.

James took his time walking up to the Common Room. Once he had finished posting the time for the Quidditch tryouts on the notice board, he plopped down in an armchair and waited for his friends. He laid his head back and closed his eyes.

He was half-asleep when he heard the sound of someone climbing through the portrait hole. His eyes flew open and widened when he saw Lily.

"Hi…what are you doing up here so early?"

She smiled and said, "I could ask you the same question, you know."

She quickly brushed her long hair behind her shoulders and tentatively approached the armchair next to his, placing her delicate hand on one of its arms.

"Oh, I was just…tired," he said lamely, gritting his teeth at how stupid he suddenly sounded in her presence.

"Same," she said, sighing and sitting down in the armchair.

"I wish we didn't have to patrol tonight. I'm exhausted," he said, trying to sound conversational. Ever since he had told her he liked her, things had been slightly awkward between them. It was driving James nuts. Why couldn't he at least be her friend?

She looked slightly cross all of a sudden, which made no sense to James; he didn't think he had said anything wrong…he'd have to ask his friends what they thought later.

James couldn't think of anything to say. He watched her play with her hair and resisted the urge to reach out and stroke it. It was so close to him, he could smell it and marveled at the beautiful scent emanating from the dark red locks. He stared at her for a while unknowingly until she looked at him questioningly. He flashed her the widest smile he could manage, and she smiled faintly in return. He knew he should probably say something to her, but he couldn't bring himself to ruin the moment; it wasn't very often that he had the pleasure of staring at her without his friend's nudges or other interruptions.

James wasn't sure how long the two of them sat there and looked into each other's eyes. It could have been five minutes, and yet it could have been half and hour. Eventually, Sirius, Remus and Peter climbed through the portrait hole.

"Oi!" Peter squeaked.

"Oops, we won't…interrupt you," said Sirius, grinning widely, his tone full of implications.

James glared at his friend; he had ruined such a perfect moment. From the corner of his eye, he saw Lily blushing. _She_ was blushing?

"Ignore them," Remus told Lily and James, rolling his eyes. He seemed to struggle for something to say. "Er, don't you two have to patrol now?"

"Not yet," said Lily, and her voice sounded somewhat strange, slightly bemused.

James' friends joined the two of them, and soon, people seemed to fill the common room. With one last slightly guilty smile at James, Lily went to join her friends on the other side of the Common Room. James tried to return the smile, but she had already left. As soon as she was out of earshot, Sirius took Lily's chair, and Remus sat on his opposite side. Peter scooted his chair closer to the three of them so they had formed a circle.

"What was that?" Sirius asked.

"I dunno, mate, she came in, we exchanged a few words, and then…" he trailed off.

"Did you kiss?" Peter asked squeakily.

"No!" James said firmly…and unhappily.

"Then what?" Remus asked, ignoring Peter.

"Then, well, we just sat and stared at each other."

Sirius laughed loudly. "You just…sat…and stared at each other?"

James nodded. Peter looked disappointed.

"I knew I should probably say something, but I couldn't think of anything…and she didn't say anything."

He looked at Remus' expression; it was unfathomable.

"Moony?" he asked apprehensively.

Remus looked at him for a long moment. "Well, I suppose it's a good thing that the corridors are dark at night."

Sirius and Peter laughed. James scowled.

"No, seriously."

"Why didn't you talk to her?" Remus asked him.

"I dunno, mate…it was a little bit awkward after…Wednesday night…"

"So there _was_ something that night," Sirius said. "When I asked you yesterday in the morning, all you said was that you two talked about detention all night."

James ignored his friend. "I sort of…told her I liked her."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "_That's_ why it was awkward?" he asked skeptically. "It's so obvious that you fancy her, I reckon even Professor Binns knows."

"Still, people can be quite oblivious about things like that," Remus disagreed.

"Not _so_ oblivious. She'd have to be mentally incapable if she didn't know, even as Prongs has asked her out more times than she can count."

Remus shrugged. "You'd be surprised. She probably thought he was just showing off. She probably though he asked the same question to every girl he came close to."

"But that's not true!" James insisted, indignant. "She's the only one I ever asked out!"

"We know that," said Remus calmly, "but you treat the whole thing so casually, to other people, that's what it seems like."

"Do you really think she doesn't trust me?" James asked.

"Well, you have sort of given her the wrong impression, mate. You have to let her know you won't make a fool out of her or something like that," said Sirius, sounding suspiciously Remus-like. James was almost positive that they had discussed this behind his back.

"How would be make I fool of her?" he asked incredulously.

"Like I said, you've given her the wrong impression."

James wanted to press the subject further, but he wasn't sure his friends were that much help. How would he be able to make her trust him? By showing her his 'deeper nature'? He was quite willing to try anything to gain her trust, but he wasn't sure this was the right way. And more than anything, he wasn't ready.

* * *

**Happy New Years, my dear readers!** **I am so sorry I haven't updated in so long...I was very busy with Christmas, New Year, and my B-day Party (January 3rd) preparation. Actually, tomorrow, we're having a New Years party, and I had so much to do (curling my hair) but I promised myself I would update, so here you go. I know I told you guys there would be drama, but actually, that stuff comes in the NEXT FEW CHAPTERS, which involves Slughorn's Christmas Party =D.**

**Anyways, I will now answer a question one of my reviewers asked: "_Do you think Lily and Sirius ever went out in Hogwarts ? And would you ship them if they were ? Also, what would your opinion be on them." _from** **_SquintandProud-x._**

**My answer is this: No, I don't think Sirius and Lily ever went out, because even if Sirius liked her, he probably valued his friendship with James much more than her. I do think he probably liked her, though. If they did go out...hmmm...I dunno if I would ship them. I might...but in the end I would want James to be happy too =D. I KIND of like them as a pairing though. I mean, they're kind of oppsites, and opposites attract, except for the fact that they're both brave and/or daring. But SB/LE is nothing compared to JP/LE. I mean, look what it did! It made the wizarding world a better place (cuz Voldy died). **

**ANYWAYS, the review question today is: _Do you consider Lily to be a prude character? If so, why?_**


	6. Chapter 6

…

The next two months passed by in a blur. James hadn't nearly as much time as he'd had in the previous years, and the workload increased every day.

He had managed to keep on good terms with Lily, which was quite an achievement. He was very proud at the fact that she hadn't scolded him once since the term had started. He was still unsatisfied, though. A couple of years ago, he would have been perfectly content with being on polite terms with her, but now he wanted her to _trust_ him. He didn't want their conversation to be quick, light, and on the surface, the way they were now. He wanted _more_. Often, he found himself dreaming about her in class, and very unfortunately, teachers would choose those moments to call on him in class. His head was always so full of her, the only time he wasn't thinking about her was during Quidditch practice. He was very surprised at this new development; he hadn't though he could fancy her more than he had before.

"Right now, all I want to do is walk over to her and snog her senseless!" James said one day to his friends as they sat in the Library trying to complete their essays. James couldn't decide if his statement was true or not. He wasn't quite sure if anything was true these days.

Sirius laughed. "Now, that's a new one," he said, patting James' shoulder.

Remus raised his eyebrows. "Is that really what you want to do?"

"Well, not quite…" James said. "I just…I just want her to _like_ me. Somehow."

Sirius groaned. "Not that again! How many times do we have to tell you? She _does_ like you! Isn't she nice to you all the times these days? Didn't you tell us a while ago that you were glad she hasn't yelled at you once? She's just stubborn, mate. Move on. There are plenty of other girls at this school."

"I can't move on!" James yelled in frustration, banging his fist against the table. "None of the other girls here are…like her, not even close. I can't explain it, Padfoot. She's all I can think about all day!"

"You mean, you dream of snogging her all day," Sirius said playfully.

James didn't feel like speaking. Most of the daydreams simply involved him and Lily sitting and talking about things he would never discuss with his friends, but he wasn't sure if Sirius would approve of this daydream. He wasn't even sure Sirius would consider it a daydream.

"Well, n-not quite…" he stammered.

Something about Remus' expression told James that his friend knew much more than James would have liked.

"You have to go slow," said Remus. "First become her friend, and then…"

"How?"

"That's up to you, mate," said Sirius, relaxed. "I'd say you should make her jealous."

"What?" James gasped.

"You heard me. Go out with someone else. She'll realize how much she wants you then."

James shook his head, muttering, "I could never do that."

Remus seemed to agree. "That's a horrible thing to do. To her and whoever you go out with."

"Okay, fine!" said Sirius, sounding upset. "Do whatever you want. Can we please not talk about Evans, now? She's all you talk about now, unless we're at Quidditch practice."

James grinned. "Sorry, sorry. What do you want to talk about?"

Sirius seemed to deliberate. "When is the next full moon?"

Remus glared at him as if to say, "_Not_ that."

James grunted in response, not paying attention.

"Don't you think Professor Munitio looks a little bit like a walrus?" Sirius tried again.

James laughed. "Sure, if you say so."

"What about ol' Sluggy? Did you hear he's having a Christmas Party?"

"For everyone?" James asked.

"I dunno, he told us about it in class the other day," Sirius said, seeming grateful for the new topic of discussion. "Said we're all welcome to come."

James sat up straighter. "Really? Sorry…I haven't been paying very much attention lately…"

"We've noticed," Sirius interrupted.

James grinned, and said suddenly and very quickly, "D'you think I should ask _her_ to go with me?"

Sirius groaned. "Not her _again_!"

"Not yet," Remus said seriously. "We'll tell you when it's alright to ask her. Just so you don't take her by surprise."

…

Marlene nudged Lily. "Stop looking at him, Lily," she hissed.

"I'm not!" Lily insisted. "I was looking at that bookshelf over there…"

"Liar," Marlene teased her friend, giggling.

"Don't you guys have anything to do?" Mary asked irritably.

The four friends were sitting in the Library a few tables away from James Potter and his friends. They had all been working on their homework. Lily and Marlene had finished, and Alice was simply bored. Mary was still scribbling her Potions essay.

"I think I'll save Munitio's essay for tomorrow morning," Alice said, yawning.

"Are you sure?" Lily asked her. "Remember the last time you did that? You were so tired that you forgot it in the morning until we were on our way to class…"

"I know, Lily. I already have half of it done this time, don't worry."

Lily sighed, and unknowingly looked at the "bookshelf" again.

"Lily! Stop it!"

Marlene and Alice giggled, and Mary glared at them.

"Shut up! I'm trying to finish my essay!"

"Then finish your essay, Mary." Alice told her.

Mary scowled. "I can't think over all your stupid giggles."

"Focus," Marlene told her, flicking a jellybean at Lily's dark red curtain of hair.

"Thank you," Lily told her friend appreciatively, popping it into her mouth.

"Damn it, Lily, that was my last one," said Marlene indignantly.

Lily laughed. "Serves you right for flicking messing up my hair," she said playfully, smoothing out the lock where the jellybean had ruffled her shiny hair. Then her face contorted. "Ugh, earwax _again_! What's the point of inventing these abnormal flavors?"

Marlene smiled. "Well, they are _every_ flavored."

"Hey, Lily, if Potter asks you to Slughorn's party, would you say yes?" asked Alice, taking her off guard.

"Shhhh," Lily said sharply, glancing at James and his friends quickly before leaning in and saying, "What does he have to do with anything?"

"Aw, come off it, Lily, we know you like him," Marlene groaned.

"I think you should ask him," Alice suggested.

"Are you mad?" Lily demanded.

"No, why not? He'd be more than pleased, and you know it."

"Not really, Alice. He hasn't asked me out once this year. I think he's moved on."

"Oh, that's likely," Marlene interjected, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "He stares at you all the time! How can you think he's moved on?"

"Maybe if you didn't reject so much, he would ask you!" Alice said rather fiercely "I'll tell you this, Lily – I'd be quite discouraged if someone told me they'd rather be a Hungarian Horntail's meal."

"Keep your voice down!" said Lily sharply.

"Alice is right, you know," Marlene told Lily.

"Leave her alone!" Mary groaned at her friends. "_She_ can decide who _she_ wants to go out with. Now, please, _please_ be quiet!"

Lily threw a grateful glance in Mary's direction, though Lily knew she had stopped the other two more for her own benefit than for Lily's.

The four of them fell silent. Marlene started playing with Lily's hair, and Alice took out her essay again. After giving her an approving look, Lily turned her head to where James and his friends were sitting, unnoticed by her friends this time. She couldn't help but admire everything about him – his hair, his hazel eyes, his smooth, shiny skin…

During the summer, when she was away from him, it was much easier to hate him. At school, it was almost impossible not to like almost everything about him; his hair, his eyes, his slight but muscular built, his impossible reflexes, his courage and cleverness, his persistence, and most of all (though probably the most shameful and embarrassing) the fact that he fancied her.

She had found it impossible to yell at him this year, partly because he gave her nothing to yell about, but also because she liked being on friendly terms with him much more than she should. Much to her disappointment, though, he seemed to have given up on her this year; he hadn't asked her out once this year. He was still generally friendly with her, but not friendlier than he was with everyone else. Lily secretly wondered whether she should do what Alice suggested and ask James out (as strange as that seemed), because she would have to act quickly. If James _was_ planning on asking someone else out, it wouldn't be hard to find someone; he could have almost anyone he wanted.

"Let's go now, it's late," Marlene announced.

"But I haven't finished!" Mary complained.

"You can finish in the common room," said Alice. "It _is_ quite late."

The four of them hastily packed their bags and started to leave. Lily permitted herself one last glance at James' table, and found that he was staring at her as well. He caught her eye and waved. She smiled and waved back, trying to ignore how his returning smile caused her heart to accelerate.

…

The next morning, Lily and her friends walked to Defense with her friends. They were all joking around, but Lily was having a battle inside her head. Should she ask James to the party? Would he find it strange if a girl asked him out? What if he said no? What if - and she gulped at the possibility - he was already going with someone?

She desperately tried to laugh with her friends, but when she heard James and his friends following them, her thoughts jumped to him again. This was getting ridiculous. With all her might, Lily resisted turning to look at him, even as she could feel his eyes on the back of her head.

She breathed a sigh of relief as the Gryffindors reached the classroom; at least she now had an innocent reason to look at him. They lined up in front of the classroom, waiting for Professor Munitio. Lily was trying to listen to what her friends were saying, but she found herself glancing back at James too often. One of the times she glanced at him, he caught her eye.

Before Lily could say anything, they were interrupted by the unpleasant, taunting voices of the Slytherins.

"Ooo," said Nott, "Potty and Evans. Really, Potter, I don't think much of your taste. Why would you even _talk_ to scum like that?"

Lily put a restraining hand on James' shoulder, but he shook it off, trying to be gentle but not quite succeeding.

Nott made a show of wrinkling his nose, enjoying himself.

"Too bad you have to get new robes, now that the Mudblood touched it."

"Don't talk about her like that!" James yelled, advancing towards Nott.

Lily didn't have enough strength to force him back; Sirius jumped forward.

"What are you doing, mate? Let it be!" He yelled at his friend, but it was too late.

James had thrown himself at the Slytherin, hitting every part of him that he could reach. The Gryffindors watched, terrified, while the Slytherins seemed to be enjoying themselves. Suddenly, James stopped moving. He fell onto the floor and began twitching uncontrollably.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Several heads turned towards the voice, finding Munitio standing behind them, his face fierce; his eyes glowing almost murderously. Lily shivered involuntarily.

Nobody said a word. James had stopped twitching, but he lay on the ground without moving.

Slowly and deliberately, Munitio said, "Can I have two volunteers to take him to the Hospital Wing, please?"

His voice sounded strangely calm, but there was a strange edge to his tone. Lily and Sirius' hands immediately shot up in the air.

"All right, you two," he said, sounding disapproving for a reason that Lily didn't care about at the moment. "Everyone else, please take a seat in the classroom. There is no need to talk."

Lily and Sirius wordlessly lifted James' body and, supporting his weight on each side, they set off to the Hospital Wing.

* * *

**Haha, cliffie. Today's my b-day so I better get a bunch of reviews! (There is no better present!)**

*****EDIT:SORRY for the people who got several emails today, I KNOW that's frustrating. I had way too many typos and I had to fix them someday. Anyways, I love you all!**


	7. Chapter 7

…

"He must have hit his head pretty hard."

"Did you _see_ him twitching? One of those Slytherins must've used the Cruciatus curse!"

"How come we didn't hear them say 'Crucio' then?"

"How thick can you get, Wormtail? There's something called _non verbal_."

James lay in his bed, distantly hearing the voices of his friends, but gave up on trying to guess who said what. In fact, the words were starting to loose their meaning as they had been repeated several times. There was only one voice James wished to hear. Once he heard it, he would make an effort to open his eyes. He would walk through fire for that voice.

Everyone was silent for a minute. James could almost feel their stares on his pale face, his limp body. Then –

"Five minutes are up! You lot had better get out soon!" Madame Pomfrey's voice.

"Can't we stay with him 'till he wakes?"

James decided he'd better wake now; he didn't want his friends to get in trouble because of him. His eyes slowly fluttered open, and he tried to ignore the disapproving huffs Madame Pomfrey was releasing. He saw his three friends standing around his bed with concern showing in their eyes. There were several get-well cards and flower bouquets surrounding the bed as well. He tried not to show the disappointment that _she_ wasn't there.

"Hi," he croaked.

Sirius leaned over him in relief.

"Prongs! Are you alright?"

"Better."

Everyone was quiet for a minute, staring at James.

"What happened?" he asked, finally, after struggling for something to say. He decided not to ask what he wanted to know most.

"Well, mate," said Sirius quietly, "after Nott said…well, you know what he said…you just attacked him –"

"I know _that_," James said, working not to sound impatient. "I mean, what happened after that?"

"I was getting to that, mate," Sirius told him. "Then, you fell down on the floor, and started twitching. It was scary!"

James glanced at Remus and Peter; their faces looked paler than usual.

"Then Munitio came," Sirius continued. "You had stopped moving, but you didn't wake up. He told us that two of us had to take you here…well you know the rest."

"How long was I here?" James asked.

It was Remus who responded this time. "About two days. It's Friday afternoon."

"What…did…" James started, and trailed off, not sure what he was going to ask.

Sirius seemed to know what James was after. "You should have seen her," he said, and James knew who the "her" was. "She was so worried…she was crying, though she tried not to show it…and she visited so often…I really think she likes you, mate. More than that…she…_respects_ you."

James smiled.

"So, when is the Christmas party?" he asked.

"The day before the holidays," Sirius told him promptly. "If you don't have the guts to ask Evans, you can come with me. I mean, I want to go just to meet the famous people Sluggy invites, but I'd rather not go alone."

"How do you know he does?" James asked.

"Evans told me. When you were asleep." Sirius said.

James had many more questions, but he decided to ask the important ones, as it probably wouldn't be long until Madam Pomfrey made his friends leave.

"So, you really think I should ask her? I mean, just yesterday you said it was too soon to ask her."

Remus smiled. "Actually, that was three days ago. You slept for two days, remember?"

"Oh, right."

"As for asking Lily out…well, I don't think you should, not right away. Maybe later, but it's definitely a possibility."

"Later," Sirius agreed. "It's only the nineteenth of November. The holidays start on December eighteenth, and the party is the seventeenth. That gives you an entire month."

…

Later that night, James woke up to the sound of a female voice arguing. He opened his eyes and saw Madam Pomfrey speaking to Lily.

Lily.

"He needs rest! He'll never recover if people keep coming to visit –"

"Let her in, please. I _want_ to talk to her," James said, his voice almost a whisper, but loud enough for them to hear.

Madame Pomfrey looked extremely reluctant and disapproving, but she let Lily in, saying nothing but "You have five minutes."

Finally, the one James was longing for was besides him. He mustered all the strength he could and croaked. "Lily." He wished he could just say her name and keep saying it. However, he needed to wait for her response.

"Yes, I'm here, James," she murmured, taking his hand in her warm one.

James tightened his grip on her smooth hand. It was so soft and delicate; it felt like cream. It was a miracle how her touch strengthened him.

"Stay," he said with a sigh.

"I will, don't worry," she said, squeezing his hand gently for a moment. "Don't strain yourself. It's alright if you don't want to speak."

James couldn't speak even if he had the strength to. He was too mesmerized by her warm touch. It was only after a few seconds of silence when he noticed a droplet of water on her cheek. She had been crying.

Slowly, James reached out with his free, quivering hand and tried to brush the tear away from her cheek. Lily, realizing what he was going to do, took his other hand and pinned it down on the bed.

"What are you doing, you idiot? Let your hand rest!" She scolded, laughing and sobbing simultaneously. She then let one of his hands go and wiped the tear away with her palm, along with fresh new ones.

"I'm alright," he murmured, gently catching a tear that she missed. "Are you okay?"

"Now I am, but I've been worried sick! James, what were you thinking? You were so silly! Obviously I can handle the Slytherins by myself!"

"I hate it when they say things like that," James muttered.

"I do too, James, but I'm handling it. You're not handling it. Please, please, please," she said, staring right into his eyes and clasping his hand with both of hers, "_please_ don't do that again. You'll hurt yourself! You what you've done already!"

"I can't promise," James said.

Lily looked miserable. She opened her mouth and then closed it again.

James stared into her eyes, and she stared right back, and James was so glad that she wasn't the kind of person who had to fill every silence with mindless chatter. This wasn't awkward in the slightest; it was a comfortable silence, more than comfortable, in fact.

"Five minutes are up!" Madame Pomfrey snapped loudly, causing Lily to jump.

Seeming reluctant, she pulled her hand away. James caught it quickly.

"Don't go," he said, unable to stop himself.

She smiled. "I'll be back soon. Sleep well."

She gave his hand a gentle squeeze before walking away, so gracefully it was as if she was gliding.

"Er-Lily?" James called after her.

She spun around. "Yes?"

"Are we…" he struggled. "Are we friends now?"

She laughed a delicate, tinkling laugh. "Of course. Why would I visit someone in the hospital if they weren't my friend?"

"You know that's not what I mean," he pressed.

She smiled and nodded. "Friends."

And from that point onwards, they truly were friends.

…

James would have never thought it would be so hard to ask Lily to the party.

To his pleasure, their friendship had lasted for three weeks – he was counting – and he wouldn't have risked it for the world. This was one of the reasons why he was reluctant and worried about asking her to the party. They had such an easy friendship; if he asked her out and she said no, things would become awkward between them. What if she didn't want more than friendship from him?

December seventeenth was becoming nearer and nearer, and the more James thought about it, he grew more and more anxious. A week before the party, he was sitting with Lily in the library, finishing his Potions essay. As usual, he was barely concentrating on his essay.

"James, what's wrong?" Lily asked him. "You seem sort of distracted."

"No, no…it's just…I dunno."

She gave him a curious sort of look and then slowly turned back to her essay.

James continued to think about the party. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't hear her calling him until she had called thrice.

"What?"

"I was just saying that we should go now, it's late."

"Oh – alright."

They started gathering their things. James gritted his teeth. He was going to do it. He was going to ask her. Now.

"Er-Lily?" he said, as they started walking out of the library.

"Yes?"

"Er…"he started, and then scolded himself. He couldn't do this! Why did he ever think he could? "Er, goodnight."

She laughed gently. "Is something bothering you? You haven't spoken at all…"

"I'm fine. You know. It's just…I'm a little tired. Because of Quidditch."

"Of course," she said, her familiar maternal tone creeping into her voice. "You must be exhausted. You'd better get some rest as soon as you reach the dormitories, alright?"

James nodded, feeling horrified that he had backed out of it in the last minute. How was he ever going to ask her?

The next time the subject was brought up was on Monday. James hadn't had much time to see Lily over the weekend, since the Gryffindor team was doing extra Quidditch practice over the weekend. The only time he had seen her was during mealtimes, and he was careful to pretend to be his usual laughing self around her, so she wouldn't grow suspicious.

Finally, on Monday, during one of their free periods, James and Sirius were walking idly in the corridors.

"You want to ask Evans out, right?" Sirius asked him suddenly.

James simply nodded, feeling discouraged at the memory of what had happened on Friday night.

"Well, I suggest you should move quickly, mate," he said and leaned in so they wouldn't have any eavesdroppers. "Listen, I know for a fact that several people have their eyes on her – I won't be surprised if she's already turned a few people down. You're not the only one who fancies her, you know."

"What do you mean?"

Sirius leaned in further and dropped his voice. "Listen, yesterday after Quidditch, I heard Gideon and Benjy talking…well, I don't need to tell you the details, but apparently, they're both going to try their luck on her."

James suddenly felt a surge of resentment towards both boys. "I'll hex their arses off," he muttered.

Sirius looked amused. "Anyhow, you should probably ask her soon."

James' thrust his hands to his head and said, "I _can't_! The other night, I tried, and I was going to and then…I didn't. I'm too cowardly, Padfoot."

Sirius grabbed his shoulders and shook them. "You are _not_ cowardly!" he insisted firmly. "Why do you think the Sorting Hat put you in Gryffindor? You are going to grit your teeth and ask her, do you hear me, James Potter? You are going to be a Gryffindor!"

James nodded weakly.

"After all, you've asked her several times in your life already," Sirius pointed out. "This should be easy."

"And when I did ask her, it always went unsuccessfully," James muttered.

"You always chose the wrong times to ask her. This time, choose a good time to ask her. Like…right now!"

"What?" James gasped. "Are you mad?"

"Look, there she is!" Sirius said. "I'm going to call her here."

James looked, and sure enough, Lily was walking with Alice and Marlene on the opposite side of the corridor. There weren't many people in the corridors at this time; it was easy to spot others. James quickly tried to cover his face, hoping he'd go unnoticed. But Sirius wasn't about to let his life be so easy.

"I'm going to call her here now," Sirius whispered. "Don't be a coward. Just grit your teeth and do it. Show her you're a Gryffindor"

"It's not so simple," James complained. "Plus, I can't ask her when she's with her friends."

"We'll take care of that," Sirius assured him, and before James could stop him, he yelled, "Oi, Evans!"

Her head turned towards them. She exchanged a few brief parting words with Marlene and Alice and then rushed towards them.

"I do have a first name, you know, Padfoot," she said, having picked up the nickname "Padfoot" in the past three weeks.

Sirius grinned. "Alright, _Lily_, James wanted to ask you something."

Lily smiled. "Good, because I wanted to ask you something as well. Listen, are you going with anyone to –"

Before she had a chance to phrase the question, James answered promptly, "Yes, I am going to the party with someone," with sudden confidence, ignoring Sirius' questioning look. He quickly grabbed Sirius' arm and said, "I'm going with Padfoot."

Lily looked perplexed and amused at the same time.

"As friends, of course," he added hastily. "It would be an honor if you could join us," he said with playful formality, bowing.

She curtsied, playing along. "That would be splendid." She changed her voice to her normal tone and said "I'm so relieved. I mean, I saw Moss Green eyeing me the other day…" She suddenly looked horrified, as if she had let a curse word slip, and said hastily, "Not that I don't like him, but…we'd find nothing to talk about."

"I know what you mean," James said. "Anyways, we'll meet you in the common room at eight."

"Sounds good, see you, James…Padfoot."

Lily smiled and waved before taking off after her friends, who were walking so slowly, James suspected it was purposeful. As he and Sirius resumed their walking, James tried to ignore the glares thrown in his direction.

Sirius waited until he was sure Lily was out of earshot before yelling, "What were you thinking, Prongs?"

James had hardly ever seen him this angry.

"What do you mean? I asked her, didn't I?"

Sirius was livid. "She. Was. Going. To. Ask. _You_." He said slowly, inhaling and exhaling. "She wanted to go with _you_, not both of us. And you…" he trailed off, shaking his head. "You were so stupid!"

Without giving any sign of warning, Sirius burst out laughing.

James was highly confused. "What – what are you talking about? Are you feeling…mentally okay?"

"That," said Sirius, still grinning, "is exactly what I was thinking when you were asking her."

James bent his head down. "Was it that terrible?"

"Not so terrible," Sirius admitted, "except for the fact that I'll have to put up with you and Evans the whole evening."

James grinned.

"Actually, that's not the case," Sirius told him earnestly, after letting out a few more laughs. "Evans is actually quite decent. I might actually have fun."

James grinned. "Don't you dare touch her, though. She's mine." He was only joking. Sort of.

Sirius waved a hand. "Wouldn't dream of it."

…

"Are you sure?" Marlene asked her friend. "He just…asked you…to go with him as a friend?"

"Positive," Lily said. "What d'you think that means? Has he given up or what?"

The three friends were heading towards the Common Room. Lily had finally told her friends what had happened in the corridor.

"No, of course he hasn't given up on you," Alice insisted. "You should see how he talks about you at Quidditch. Actually, I'd rather you didn't. Too much flattery makes you blush," she told her friend matter-of-factly, and Lily blushed slightly.

"Are you _sure_?"

"Yes, Lily," said Marlene, pushing a lock of her strawberry-blonde curls behind her shoulder.

"He was probably just too much of a coward to ask you," Alice told her.

"Ignavus Leo," Lily muttered to the Fat Lady.

The three of them climbed through the Portrait hole one at a time.

"It wasn't like that," Lily continued, as they entered the near-deserted room. "I started to ask him, and before I can finish, he says he's already going with someone."

"You left out that detail," Alice said, scowling. "How are you going with him as a friend if he's already got a date?"

"I'm getting to that. So he says, 'I'm going with Padfoot.'"

Lily paused; Marlene and Alice were giggling uncontrollably. She waited impatiently for them to stop.

Once they had finished, Lily continued, "Then he asks me if I would like to accompany him, and of course, I couldn't refuse."

Alice laughed. "Well, that's quite a story! Wait till Mary and Yolanda hear!"

Lily groaned. "Just make sure you don't tell them in front of me. I don't want to hear the reaction."

The two of them giggled.

"What do you think that means?" Lily asked them. "D'you think maybe he doesn't want it to become more than friendship?"

"I think he just might not be ready for something more," Alice suggested. "I think he wanted to ask you, but then he backed out at the very end."

Lily sighed. "Ugh, this is so confusing."

"Better than my life," Marlene said. "I don't even _like_ Danny Smith anymore and I'm stuck in a situation where I'm somehow going out with him and I can't think of a nice way to end it." She turned to Lily. "It's all your fault, Lily. You were the one who told me to stay friends with him even after he told he fancied me."

"I told you to stay friendly with him," Lily insisted, "I never told you to go out with him."

"Well, somehow, I'm stuck going out with him. He doesn't want just friendship, Lily. And…on Saturday, we left that tacky place, Madam Puddifoot's, that _he_ suggested, and, well, I…I…"

"You what?" Alice asked eagerly. "When I asked you what happened on that date, you said 'nothing to report.'"

"That's because I wish I could erase it from my memory!" Marlene nearly shrieked. "I…I…kissed his cheek!"

Alice giggled. "Did you kiss his pimple? How did it feel?"

"Euuurrgghh!" Marlene made a strange noise as the three girls seated themselves in the Common Room.

Alice giggled again; Lily felt slightly disapproving, but she was also trying to suppress a laugh.

"Don't ever remind me of that again," Marlene said loudly. A cluster of sixth year girls, the only ones besides them in the Common Room, were starting to stare at them. "I'm sort of scared of him, now. I can't go anywhere besides the Gryffindor Tower in this entire school! Plus, we have another free next period, and he has one too!"

"Come to the library with us," Lily suggested. "He'd never come there."

"Thanks," Marlene said. "Can you also bring me some food there so I don't have to go to the Great Hall for lunch?"

"No," Alice insisted. "Remember the last time Madam Pince caught you with jellybeans?"

"Oh yeah," Marlene muttered. "That wasn't pretty."

"Nor are your lips, now that they've been infected by Danny's pimple."

"DON'T," Marlene bellowed, just as James and Sirius climbed into the Common Room. "I wish...I could cut my lips off!"

Lily was determinedly avoiding James' gaze, sure that her theory about what had happened in the corridor was more likely than Alice's. She tried to laugh with Alice and Marlene, but the moment James had entered the Common Room, it was impossible to think about anything else.

* * *

**Ignavus Leo = cowardly lion**

**And I apologize again to those of you who got the annoying emails reporting my editing of the typos and stuff. Really sorry!**

**Anyways, this is the longest chapter I have ever written! Hope you enjoyed it! More will come…I can't say how soon!**

**Anyways, hope you guys had a great weekend!=D**

**And the review question today is: _Around what time in 7__th__ year do you think Lily and James started dating?_**

**And I already know when I'm going to make it happen, but when do YOU think it was? **


	8. Chapter 8

…

"Where is Marlene?" Mary asked Lily, glancing at her watch.

"Hmmm…" Lily's eyes scanned the Common Room.

Lily, Mary, Alice, and Yolanda were waiting in the Common Room. They weren't the only ones there, though most of the people were heading towards the Entrance Hall. Lily's friends had all arranged to meet in the Common Room before they left to find their dates. James and Sirius had told Lily to meet them in the Common Room as well, though they hadn't arrived yet. The only thing keeping the other three girls in the Common Room was Marlene.

"What's taking her so long?" Yolanda asked.

"Maybe she's trying to hex her lips off so she won't have to kiss Danny Smith again," Alice giggled again.

"It's not funny," Lily said reproachfully. "Besides, she's not going with Smith."

Yolanda gaped at her. "What? How do you know? Who is she going with, then?"

"Or is she joining your little friendship group thing with Potter and Black?" Alice added, giggling.

Lily frowned, ignoring Alice. "If she hasn't told you, I'm not saying a word."

"C'mon, Lily! Give us some clues!" Yolanda pleaded, looking around the room. "Is he in Gryffindor?"

Lily smiled. "I told you, I'm not saying a word."

Yolanda rounded on Mary. "You know, too, don't you?"

Mary grinned innocently; Yolanda playfully shook her tiny shoulders, causing her head to rock back and forth. "Tell me!"

"What's going on?"

The four of them spun around to see Marlene walking shyly towards them. Her robes were bright green, and her eyes were sparkling with excitement. She had tied her strawberry-blonde curls in an elegant twist on the top of her head, with one lock falling gently onto her right shoulder. Mary gave a very uncharacteristic squeal, and Yolanda and Alice gasped.

"Marlene, you look absolutely _gorgeous_!" Lily told her, smiling widely.

"D'you really think so?" Marlene asked, looking pleased. "So do you! And yellow is definitely your color! It goes with your hair so well!"

She touched Lily's shiny, dark red hair enviously.

"I wish my hair were this color."

"Oh, stop it," Lily scolded her friend. "You look amazing. Don't listen to what anyone else says."

"How did you get rid of Smith, Mar?" Alice burst out, unable to contain herself. "And who are you going to the party with?"

"Well, it turns out that Smith didn't even like me. He was going out with me because he wanted to make Mary jealous" She shrugged. "I never liked him anyways, so it didn't matter to me. Then, the word got out that I was free, so Eric Burby asked me."

Alice giggled. "The Ravenclaw Seeker?"

Marlene nodded, blushing. "Well, I'm going to go find him. See you all later!"

She waved and climbed through the Portrait hole.

"Burby!" Alice exclaimed when Marlene had left. "Well, I always thought there was something going on between them."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Of course you did." she said sarcastically.

"Well, now Marlene is gone, maybe we should head towards Entrance Hall," Alice suggested. "Coming, Lily?"

"No," she sighed. "They were supposed to meet me here."

"I still can't believe you got _two_ dates, Lily," Yolanda told her.

Lily sighed. "Will everyone stop saying that?"

"No," Alice giggled. "It's too much fun. By the way, Mary, do you like Smith?"

"Mary made a gagging noise. "Danny Smith? Never in a million years! Especially since he used my friend to make me jealous! Ugh…"

"Hey, there's Potter!" Yolanda said suddenly, catching Lily off guard. "Let's go now. See you, Lily."

Lily waved at her departing friends and turned to face James and Sirius.

"Hi James, hi Padfoot," she greeted them brightly. "You look nice." They were both wearing identical black dress robes.

"So do you," James replied in an uncharacteristically shy voice.

"Er, shall we go?" Sirius asked them awkwardly, trying to break the silence.

"Oh…yes…"

The three off them set off toward Slughorn's office, climbing through the portrait hole one at a time.

…

_What did you get yourself into?_ James scolded himself internally.

He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do and he hated admitting it to himself, but he was _nervous_. What did Lily expect from him? Did she expect him to dance with her? Did she want something to happen tonight?

He had to admit to himself that it had been much easier when she wasn't friends with him; it was so easy to casually ask her out and wait for her various rejections. He wasn't regretting this new friendship but he was worried about what she would think. Would she be disappointed if nothing out of ordinary happened at the party? Would she – he almost shuddered at the possibility – move on? Forget about him? Go out with someone else?

_No, that is _not_ what's going to happen_, he told himself firmly.

He carefully watched her; she and Sirius were walking slightly in front of him and they were talking about something James had not been paying attention to, up to this point.

"….yeah, she's going with Burby," Lily was saying.

"Who?" James asked suddenly.

"Marlene," Lily and Sirius told him.

"Burby's a bastard," James muttered, remembering the last Quidditch match they had against Ravenclaw; Burby has not taken Ravenclaw's loss very well.

"Yeah, he isn't the most pleasant sort of bloke," Sirius agreed.

Lily's forehead creased, and she looked quite disturbed. James suspected that she was worried for her friend.

"So, did you finish Munitio's homework assignment?" James asked Lily, trying to take her mind off Burby.

"Yes, a while ago," Lily murmured distractedly.

They had finally reached Slughorn's office. It was very crowed and had a slightly claustrophobic feel to it. James watched as Lily waved to her friends, who were dancing with their dates in a distance. He felt as though thousands of small golden snitches were whizzing around inside his stomach.

"Prongs," Sirius muttered in his ear, too softly for Lily to hear, "get a grip on yourself. Relax, mate!"

James nodded and made an effort to compose his face.

"Er…shall we sit down?" Sirius asked.

The other two nodded and they quickly sat down at the first empty table (there weren't many tables in the room). Barely seconds after they sat down, they were joined by a small dark haired and cross-looking girl.

"Hi, Dorcas," Lily greeted her.

"Mind if I join you lot?" She said.

She didn't wait for them to answer; she quickly sat down in between Lily and Sirius and buried her face in her hands.

"Er – what's wrong?" James asked her. He knew her well; she was a year younger than them, Marlene's cousin (and one of his distant cousins), and she had played Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team with him for four years. She was generally a bright and cheerful person; he had rarely seen her looking this cross.

Dorcas sighed and looked up from her hands, giving them each a long stare before saying, "If you tell you, will you swear not to tell a soul? Especially not Mar?"

James, Lily, and Sirius exchanged confused glances and then nodded.

"Promise!"

"We swear, Dor," Lily told her friend. "Now what's the matter?"

She sighed, looking hesitant, and then she spilled, as if she had been containing this information for a long time.

"Eric Burby was supposed to come here with _me_! He asked me just a week ago. Only when he found out _Marlene_," her nostrils flared as she said the name, "was free, he made up some stupid excuse about his mother being ill so he could ask her!"

She had said this all in one breath, and she took a deep breath before continuing. "I know _Marlene_ was only too pleased to get rid of Smith, and she wouldn't be caught dead coming here alone, so she obviously took the first opportunity she got."

Lily patted her friend on the back sympathetically.

"Mar probably doesn't know he asked you first," Lily insisted, though in a soft voice; it was obvious she was worried about upsetting her further. "Why didn't you tell her?"

"She wouldn't listen!" Dorcas said, and it sounded like she was holding back tears. "Anyways, he probably never liked me in the first place! He probably only asked me so he could get to Marlene. She _is_ my cousin…"

"It's good that he doesn't like you," James muttered darkly. "He's not worth anything. Come on, you lot, let's go find them and kick Burby's arse."

Lily looked quite worried; Dorcas, on the other hand, said scornfully, "It shouldn't be too hard to find them. They're right there."

James followed Dorcas' eyes to where Marlene and Burby and without warning, he walked over to them.

"Hey, Marlene, can I talk to you and Burby for a minute?" He asked.

"Sure," she said, confused, looking at Burby cautiously.

James led the two of them of the dance floor to where Sirius, Lily, and Dorcas were watching him intently.

"Burby," James said slowly and carefully. "I heard that you asked Dorcas to come here with you before asking Marlene, is that true?"

Burby fidgeted uncomfortably. James glared at him, waiting for his answer.

"Come on, mate," Burby said, playfully clapping James on the shoulder. When James' expression did not soften, he lowered his voice and said, "You're a bloke. It's not a crime to want the better looking girl, is it?"

"Well at least you didn't have to lie to me about your mum being ill!" Dorcas yelled at him. Burby flinched; surprised that she had heard him.

"Get lost," James said, his voice deadly. "Go."

"Wait," said Marlene, her face filling with revulsion, "you agreed to go with Dor first? And you still asked me?"

Burby looked very uncomfortable. "I'll just be going then…"

"Fine!" Marlene yelled. "And you can forget about that Hogsmeade trip as well!" She then bent down and hugged her cousin.

"Dory, I'm so sorry!" She said. "If you had told me Burby asked you first, I wouldn't have said yes to him!"

"It's fine," Dorcas sniffed. "At least I realized what an idiot he is before going out with him."

Lily turned to James, smiling. "I don't know how to thank you," she murmured. And she was looking at him in a way she had rarely looked at him before. Her expression was full of…respect.

"I do," James replied, surprised by his own courage. "Will you honor me with a dance?" He bowed playfully, as he had done when he asked her out.

"The honor is mine, Mr. Potter," Lily said, laughing lightly and taking his hand.

…

"That was bloody brilliant!" Sirius said as they walked into their dormitories, out of Lily's earshot. "You know what the best parts were? First, you managed to take on Burby without jinxing him! And second, you didn't even make a fool out of yourself! You didn't even do it simply to impress Evans! Well done, mate."

He clapped his friend on the back playfully, and James felt extremely pleased.

"So what happened?" Remus asked as he saw them approaching.

After Sirius told him excitedly about the incident with Burby, Remus smiled and said, "Nice work, James. What I meant was…how did it go with Lily?"

"She was so impressed by him –"

Remus held out his hand to stop Sirius' excited chatter and said, "James. How did it go with Lily?"

"Well, it was great, Moony," James told him honestly, "but…nothing happened. Between us, specifically, I mean. We just danced and then…well, that was it."

"Tomorrow," Sirius said, "– and I'm serious about this mate – tomorrow, before she leaves for break, you're going to walk up to her and snog the living daylights out of her!"

"Are you mad, Padfoot?"

Remus looked very disapproving. "Don't do that, but you're going to have to wake up very early if you want to – erm – say goodbye to her. Which means you should probably sleep now."

…

"Aguamenti!"

James woke up, soaked.

"Wake up, Prongs!" Sirius yelled enthusiastically! "Lily is in the common room saying bye to her friends now! Hurry up! She won't be here for long…"

Upon hearing her name, James immediately dashed away to get changed into his robes. Once he was finished, he rushed outside to the nearly deserted common room. There were only three people in the room. Lily was hugging Marlene and Dorcas goodbye (the two of them were staying at Hogwarts for the break; the whole Quidditch team had agreed to stay in order to get extra practice).

Uh oh. He didn't want to say goodbye to her in front of everyone else. Slowly, he approached the three girls and cleared his throat.

"Hello, ladies," he said, trying to sound braver than he felt. "Do you mind if I borrow her for a moment?"

He saw Marlene nudge Dorcas lightly, making her giggle as she said, "Of course. We were just leaving to get some more sleep. See you later, Lily!"

"Bye Lily,' Marlene said, giving her friend one last hug before following her cousin up to the stairs to the girls' dormitories.

"Hi, James," Lily said, "you'll have to hurry up and say whatever you have to say, because…well I'm in sort of a hurry, you see."

"Of course," James said quickly. "I just came to say goodbye."

"Goodbye, James," Lily said, smiling. "I'll…I'll miss you. And Padfoot, Moony, and Wormtail as well. Will you say goodbye to them from me?"

"Of course," James told her. "Well, I guess this is it. Have a great winter break."

"Same to you," she said.

As she started to go, dragging her trunk with her, James said, "Wait!"

She stopped, and he walked over to where she was standing.

Slowly, he started to lean in. He was going to do it. He, James Potter, was going to kiss Lily Evans. He leaned it, closer, and closer…

Lily quickly pecked him on the cheek and said, "Bye, James! I really have to go! Send me an owl if you can!"

She waved at him one last time and disappeared through the portrait hole.

* * *

**Aww! Poor James!**

**Hahahaha I am evil MUHAHAHA.**

**And I'm sorry for not updating sooner!**

**I'll tell you honestly, right now….I'm not sure when the next update will be! I sincerely promise I will not leave this story unfinished. Even if it takes me years! But really, I have no idea when I'll have time to update because skewl starts tomorrow! And I'm on a gymnastics team, which is very time consuming. And I'm taking two languages in skewl this year. Etc. It's going to be very stressful. SO I'll try to update ASAP but there's no telling when it'll be.**

**Anyways. I LOVE you all! 3 **


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